Tag Archives: Recommendations

Yesterday the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a pro-vegan advocacy group, issued its own Dietary Guidelines for Cancer Prevention. In drawing up these guidelines, PCRM interpreted scientific evidence previously collected and analyzed in the American Institute for Cancer Research/World Cancer Research Fund expert report.

We at AICR are always pleased to see our reports on cancer risk’s connection to diet, weight management and physical activity cited as the authoritative resources we know them to be. We pride ourselves on our reports’ scientific rigor, comprehensiveness and – above all – objectivity. Physicians, nurses, registered dietitians, researchers, educators, and policy makers rely on our reports for authoritative and evidence-based guidance.

This is why, on those occasions when any advocacy group cites our reports to advance their message, it is important to clarify the distinctions between what that advocacy group is saying, and what our own independent panel of experts has concluded.

Post-menopausal women who follow at least five of AICR’s recommendations for cancer prevention may cut their risk of developing breast cancer in half compared to those who meet none, suggests a new study that adds to previous research showing how each recommendation met decreases a women’s risk.

The three recommendations that most helped women reduce their risk of breast cancer in this study related to eating plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains; being a healthy weight; and drinking one or fewer glasses of wine a day.

For the study, researchers pulled data from approximately 31,000 participants of the VITamins And Lifestyle (VITAL) study. The women were ages 50 to 76 at the start and had no history of breast cancer. When the study began, the women filled out questionnaires on their eating habits, weight, activity, medicines they take and other factors that may play a role in breast cancer risk. Continue reading →

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans were released this morning and here at AICR, we’re excited about their emphasis on preventing obesity and eating more plant foods.

The new guidelines say that America’s overweight and obesity epidemic played a major role in developing the recommendations. The obesity epidemic carries a steep cost, the guidelines point out, increasing the risk of many chronic diseases, such as heart disease and cancer. Most are preventable. (For cancer, AICR estimates that over 1/3 of the most common cancers could be prevented if Americans ate healthy, exercised more, and stayed lean.)